A mini glimpse of the old 'Manchester United Way' was just enough to save the Reds at West Ham with a late Daley Blind equaliser.

United were heading for a defeat at Upton Park and another uncomfortable post-match set of interviews for Louis van Gaal to explain another largely disappointing United effort when Blind lashed in an injury time leveller.

Some old habits do die hard at United and at least Van Gaal has managed to keep some of the spirit if not adventure going in his regime.

Having so publicly acclaimed that he understood the values of playing the 'United way' after his appearance at the Old Trafford Munich memorial service Van Gaal really turned the spotlight on how his Reds are developing.

Van Gaal read a passage from 'The Pride of Football' in his media conference after laying a wreath to pay tribute to those who lost their lives in the 1958 air crash.

WATCH: Louis Van Gaal at the Munich memorial service

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‘You are the strengths and inspirations for those who play your roles today. We look for pace and passion to play the game United’s way.'

It was the latter sentence that has caused so much angst among the Reds support this season as they struggle to align themselves with the Dutchman's philosophy.

Passion you cannot argue with from a side who've climbed their way steadily to cement themselves in the top four.

But pace has been the sticking point as well as flair and entertainment.

“I don’t think we are very bad, we are very good but we can improve,” added Van Gaal.

Neither can you argue with that. You don't post just one loss in 17 matches in all competitions if you are very bad.

But if only United could inject some elan into their accumulation of results and FA Cup conquests.

So having picked out the sentence in that Munich poem that struck a chord with the 63-year-old and making such a point about it set him up for a fall at Upton Park.

The kind of off the cuff brilliance we've been desperate to see on a regular basis came here last season when Wayne Rooney conjured up his sensational copycat halfway line lob that so impressed the watching David Beckham.

The fact he has not had a shot on target in 360 minutes playing time in 2015 highlighted the United captain's new role in Van Gaal's strategy.

Those stats never increased in another turgid first 45 minutes from United.

“I believe the confidence is coming back and we have to prove it today,” Van Gaal told the TV cameras before sending his side out in East London.

That renewed self belief never surfaced in the opening half at Upton Park and with a front two of Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie backed at the point of the midfield diamond by Angel Di Maria it was criminal that such an illustrious attacking force were so docile.

The Reds were overrun in midfield the near £100m front me were starved of their oxygen and even in the rare moments they did get on the ball their confidence looked shot dispute the United manager's pre-match statement.

Bar a shot after 41 minutes from Di Maria the only opportunity United had was a chance created for them by a sloppy gift of a square ball from Alex Song. Even then the Hammers managed easily to mop up the minimal threat.

Such was the ease in which Sam Allardyce's side could get on the ball it inevitably came down to another stubborn performance from David de Gea.

Getting the Spanish number one to commit to an Old Trafford new deal before his current contract expires in 2016 and Real Madrid can get their claws into him is becoming an even more prominent must for the Reds support than who Van Gaal might buy in another summer splurge.

In the space of one minute he denied West Ham striker Enner Valencia with his usual mix of agility and determined reactive shot-stopping.

The keeper's best effort was to stick out a right leg after 32 minutes to stop James Tomkins powering in a downward header from a free kick when the Hammers defender had been allowed to turn up at the back post unchallenged.

The half had been yet another frustrating lacklustre dull offering from the Reds that came nowhere near the 'United way'.

If the hope was that reaching the dressing room intact might help Van Gaal change things for the second half then they were shattered before any plans could be implemented.

United's defending has been one improved feature of this winter but Mark Noble's 49 minute free kick wasn't dealt with and Enner Valencia was allowed time to swivel in the box and ram his shot home.

The goal did more than any half time pep talk could have done as the sleepwalking Reds finally woke up.

At least there were chances created that meant the travelling support's journey wasn't a complete waste of time.

But so starved were United's front men of action where they are supposed to thrive that when their moments arrived the old clinical heads looked gone. Van Persie had three second half chances that at one time would have meant the former back-to-back Golden Boot winner collecting the match ball, but were squandered.

Falcao had been bigged up yet again by his advisor Jorge Mendes on the eve of the match but his client messed up another chance to prove he's worth that £43m investment in the summer to net the Portuguese agent another huge pay day.

Just when you think United have lost their thrilling appeal completely under Van Gaal they revived some of the old memories with a late onslaught that was rewarded with Blind's equaliser before Luke Shaw ended the match on a sour note with a second yellow card that saw him sent off.